


Group Hug - A Marvel High Fic

by ExtremisEm



Series: Marvel High [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Also lots of action, Alternate Universe - High School, Everyone is young, High School Avengers Initiative, JUST MARVEL OKAY, Lots of awesome, Lots of cute Clintasha, Lots of domestic fluff, Marvel - Freeform, Marvel Heroes, Multi, Teen Avengers, They all go to this school for the Avengers Initiative and SHIELD, much wow, very Marvel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-12
Updated: 2014-09-24
Packaged: 2018-02-17 01:28:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2291885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExtremisEm/pseuds/ExtremisEm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable young individuals...</p><p>A teen billionaire.  A fifteen-year-old with incredible anger management skills.  A god with a mean swing.  A young Russian assassin.  The archer who never misses.  A hacker, two fighters, a scientist, a mechanic, and their fearless leader.  A masked vigilante by night, high school student by day.  When all these and more answer the call that SHIELD sends out, anything can happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> As this is my first published fic, I really hope you all like it! This idea belongs to the lovely Tony from the NaNoWriMo program, and lots of the character development is thanks to the wonderful RPers that made my first long-term RP the best I've ever been in. I love you guys, and thank you so much! Oh, and I don't own Marvel. Duh.

_There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative._

Tony Stark slept lightly, for a change, in his large room in his family's equally large home. Pepper had come in earlier and pulled the shoes off of his feet and the covers over his shoulders, and she turned out the light. For those who didn't know him, Tony Stark almost looked...peaceful.

Virginia Pepper Potts, assistant to Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark, slept in the small room that was her share of the Stark's mansion. Working there nearly every day before and after school, her room was cozy, but far from inviting. She slept soundly on top of the sheets, her laptop lighting up with new emails every few moments.

Mr. and Mrs. Howard and Maria Stark were out of town.

_The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people..._

Clinton Francis Barton slept perched on a chair, disregarding the carefully made bed merely a few feet away. On a mission in St. Petersburg, his REM cycles were fast as he dreamed lightly, most of his snoozing thoughts already toward the next day's mission. He was looking for a target, but every time he thought that she was caught, she slipped out of his fingers...

Natalia Alianova Romanova barely slept on the inside of a sticky, hot safehouse just outside of the same city - in fact, she was barely a mile away from Clint. Her red hair fanned out around her head as she rested on a window seat bench, too fatigued with her rapidly worsening wounds to drag herself upstairs. It would be her last night in that safehouse.

James Bucanan Barnes was cold, frozen in a box, but there were whispers of change around the test facility deep in the countryside surrounding St. Petersburg. He did dream, of ceaseless winter and a girl whose name he couldn't remember, and a name he couldn't remember who to give to. It wasn't the girl's name, though. A girl named Steve wouldn't make sense.

_...To see if they could become something more._

Bruce Banner was asleep in Calcutta, in the slums as usual. The house was clean of sickness, he thought, and without anything to aggravate him, so to speak, but the whole of the town surrounding was struck ill, and it was only a matter of time until his money completely ran out....

Jane Foster slept on the roof of her New Mexico lab and current residence (Darcy's snoring and Erik's frenzied typing had become too much to bear). The lack of light pollution revealed the whole of the heavens above her, and her dreams were full of the swirling galaxies and stars she could almost reach out and touch.

_To see if they could work together when we needed them to..._

 

Grant Ward slept in a nearly empty barrack inside the usual dorm buildings. His sleep was military and dreamless, much resembling his outward appearance. Skye would have thought he looked sweet, though. Like a puppy.

Melinda May slept in a similar barrack just on the floor above Ward, but she slept simply for the purpose of regaining energy. Her room was dark and there was a fragrant smell coming from somewhere. She had received a mission report earlier and needed some tea to read it through properly.

Skye was asleep, and violently so; she tossed and turned often, and she did snore every once in a while. The sheets were twisted around her, but not from unrest or discomfort. She would later think to herself that it was the best sleep she would get for a long time.

Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons slept on opposite sides of the same wall in mirror rooms, only an inch of plaster between them. Whenever both awoke, they'd communicate in morse until one was asleep, but Jemma slept easily that night and Fitz was growing weary of tapping out I love you and matching his breathing to her own.

_...To fight the battles that we never could._

Thor Odinson had just returned from a rigorous battle in a faraway realm, and he returned victorious with his brother and warrior friends. Exhausted and bloody, they had collapsed and now slumbered in a hall filled with blankets and pillows that had been prepared upon their return. Lady Sif had somehow managed to fall asleep rather close to Thor, her head resting on his chest, but his thunderous snoring eventually scared her away (to Thor's disappointment).

Loki Odinson wandered the halls, unseen to every eye in Asgard save for Heimdall's, whose eyes were turned to more important things. His wanderings had become more and more frequent with every Asgardian sunset, and every night they drew closer and closer to the Asgardian vaults.

_Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea;_

Phillip Coulson was still very much alive, but very much unconscious. Back at headquarters he slept in his quarters well and soundly, but his communications link was wired to respond to Clint if and when he called in. So counting on Clint's need for backup, Phil had several jets and a tank prepared for when the call came.

_In heroes._

Peter Parker slumbered deeply under a single sheet, only disguising the fact that he still wore a red and blue costume despite the heat. His hair was singed slightly, and there was soot on his nose. Underneath the costume there were several deep scratches in the skin - but, he'd figure it out in the morning.

Gwen Stacy slept halfway across New York from Peter, but her dreaming thoughts weren't focused on the shy boy with the camera she kept catching stealing glances at her. No, she had a scholarship to win... it wasn't meant to be merit-based, but she'd have to convince them... Such a wonderful opportunity...

 

_Well, maybe it was an old-fashioned notion. ___

__Steve Rogers slept, frozen, inside a crashed plane in a distant ocean. His shield was resting over his chest as he dreamed of dancing, of eight o'clock at the Stork Club, of a pretty girl, a lost comrade, and how he couldn't be late. A jet screamed overhead. circling in a last half-hearted attempt to retrieve a fallen hero._ _

__Margaret Peggy Carter's heavy, raspy breathing echoed over the few other beds in her ward, and the steady beating of her heart was monitored by a hundred machines. She, too, dreamed of eight o'clock at the Stork Club, a once-pretty girl, a lost comrade, and how he was so painfully late._ _

__The Howling Commandoes were dead, their graves honored with fresh flowers that Peggy's nurses remembered to send over in her name._ _

__And so a quiet was cast over everything, as well as an anticipation of something not yet fully known._ _


	2. This Looks Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint makes a different call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone! Today was a rough day for me, but seeing all the reads, kudos, and comments definitely got me through, so thank you for that. I hope you enjoy the next chapter and don't hesitate to drop me a line! ^-^

Clint was in a rut - an absolute _rut_. Nothing about this mission was adding up. His target had identity upon identity - and whoever she was, even arrows couldn't stop her for long.

And no, it definitely was _not_ the fact that she was stunningly beautiful and fierce that stayed his hand from firing an arrow through her heart. Why would you think that? No, if anything it _wasn't that._

There was just something about her that made her different from the other targets. She was young, for one thing; not some adult assassin that the archer had to stake out from a high building to neutralize. She was his age, probably, but her appearance was almost fluid in the respect that she could blend into any place fairly easily. And, boy, was she cunning. She knew how to lead him on, to make him believe that he had caught her, but he never had and was starting to worry that he never would. 

The last place he had wanted to go was the last known safe house that was listed in the mission detail. To kill someone in the last place that they considered safe wasn't something that he wanted to do, and Clint had pointedly ignored the address in the file. It just wasn't _right. ___

__But was anything he did really right?_ _

__Clint went through his morning routine; getting dressed, gathering his belongings and files from the hotel room, leaving next to no trace. As he stood to leave, scanning the room once more, he switched out his SHIELD mandated comm that had been modified to double as his hearing aids for his normal civilian ones, though it was against the guidelines unless necessary for his survival. Without thinking any more about it, Clint turned and left the room, paying for his lodging and hailing a cab from the lobby._ _

__Maybe it was time he made a different call._ _

__There was a time when Clint Barton was lost, a renegade agent bouncing between agencies at will. No one really needed him; he just needed the thrill of the chase, the adrenaline of tracking down targets and neutralizing "threats." As much as he hated himself for it, he couldn't help what had become habit over years of work. Just when he was in too deep, when he was the threat that needed neutralizing, SHIELD picked him up. Didn't she deserve the same chance?_ _

__The cab eventually slowed down in front of a small, rundown neighborhood. Rain fell on the windshield as Clint counted out the rubles due to the cabbie. Pulling his dark jacket's hood over his head, he took the case containing his bow and left, walking up to the correct house._ _

__The first sign that something was off was the nearly unlocked door. Natalia was a highly trained Russian assassin with dozens of confirmed kills in the past two years. She wouldn't just lock the bottom lock and get on with it. Clint broke the handle off easily and swung the door open nearly silently. As soon as he was in, he shut the door behind and took out his bow and quiver, leaving the case behind._ _

__The next sign came in the form of sticky blood marks that dragged across the wood and carpet. It wasn't dried at all, probably from the last five hours, tops. The trail led up the stairs, and Clint followed intently._ _

__And the final sign that Natalia Romanova was more than just wounded was the fact that she was lying completely unarmed and unprotected on the window seat, a metal tipped arrow protruding from her side._ _

__Clint sucked in a breath. He had shot an arrow after her before giving up the chase the night before, but he hadn't known that it had hit her. Having seen worse wounds before, he approached her carefully. Crouching down to listen for a heartbeat, he heart her breath come in ragged gasps. Her heart rate was fairly regular, and looking closer, the arrow hadn't gone that deep. She was right to leave it where it was._ _

__Her face was so peaceful with her closed eyes, and her lashes were long and feathery against her pale skin. Gently, Clint reached out to brush a blood red strand of hair off of her cheek. She barely moved, but she gathered enough energy to cry out softly._ _

__He couldn't help it. He wouldn't let her pass away in her sleep, a woman who had fought so hard to stay alive. Standing straight up, he called out her name._ _

__"Natalia."_ _

__She was awake in an instant with an animal cry, as if she had been shot with the arrow all over again. Eyes locked on Clint's, she sat up and jerked back, with the last of her strength making for the open window. Before she could, Clint's hands closed around her wrists. THough she was considerably strong for her size, it was obvious that exhaustion won out as she ceased to struggle and stayed perfectly still aside from her heavy gasps for breath, not breaking Clint's gaze._ _

__"Hey," he said gently, doing his best to calm her down. "I'm not going to hurt you."_ _

__She laughed in his face, bitterly, and her slightly accented words stung. "Says the man who shot me in the first place."_ _

__"Woah, okay, who shot back?" Clint jerked his head toward his left shoulder, where a bullet from her gun had just grazed him. It wasn't giving him too much trouble just yet. "Look, would you shut up and let me help you?"_ _

__"Who are you? Who is it that sends you?"_ _

__Clint sighed in exasperation. "I'd rather do all of the niceties when I get the arrow out of your abdomen. Care to cooperate with me long enough to save your life?"_ _

__Natalia stared him down with a steel gaze for a moment before yanking her hands away and removing a knife from one of her pockets. Clint watched as she cut away the fabric surrounding the arrow, revealing the wound beneath._ _

__"Okay," Clint breathed. "This looks bad."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll update soon, promise.


	3. It's Virginia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The suit and Tony Stark are one, and Virginia Potts hates pet names.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! This one's a tad longer (by 500 or so words), so I hope you don't mind it. Please give me suggestions on who to write in next or feedback on my existing chapters! I live to answer your questions! Oh, and if I'm not tagging anything I should be, please let me know. That would be wonderful! Thanks, all! ^-^

"I don't like this, Tony."

Stark sighed as he set down what he was working on (a new repulsor for improved fire and flight stability) and looked up at the slender redhead leaning against the doorway to his lab. "You aren't going to -" 

"I really don't. You shouldn't go to... to whatever this thing is."

Tony stood up, approaching Virginia Potts as she stood up straight. She had that look in her eyes again, the look she always got when they discussed this initiative. It was something vaguely sad, hidden under a layer of worry.

"I'd never heard of SHIELD until that Phil Agentcame along. For all you know they could be _terrorists_."

"I've seen terrorists before, Miss Potts, and I'm pretty sure they don't look like already balding twenty-year-old agents." 

It was true; he had. Blah blah Afghanistan blah blah death blah blah Arc Reactor in his chest blah blah lots of paperwork. _Whatever_. Tony had told that story to the media too many times. 

Even though the young assistant-slash-caretaker looked like she was on the verge of a long speech, Tony stopped her.

"It's nice of you to be thinking of me," he said, before adding quickly, " _Too_ nice. Are you gonna miss me or something, Pepper?"

The girl sighed. "It's Virginia, Mr. Stark and it's literally my job to keep you out of trouble."

" _It's Tony._ " Stark replied, imitating her openly

She wasn't lying about caring for him being her job. Howard and Maria took her on after seeing how many honors she entered high school with (even as an eighth grader she had a rather impressive resumé). In need of money for a car and college, she took the job,and she officially became the caretaker of the richest and most successful young mind in America and the best assistant Howard Stark had ever had. On top of keeping Tony on track with his classes and schoolwork, as he was apt to ignore all assignments that he didn't like, Virginia took most all of Howard's emails as well as the more relevant of Maria's. She single-handedly organized the Stark Gala last year, and she was killer at haggling with competitors. Her and Happy, the chauffeur and bodyguard-in-training, teamed up to get everyone where they needed to be on any given day. Tony and his parents wouldn't last a day without Pepper - er, Virginia.  
"Tony, you're not doing this... Inventive Initiative."

"It's the Avengers Initiative, Pep, and you shouldn't be worried about it. It's just a summer school program-"

"Since when do you do summer school? You _should_ be working on getting more credits for your MIT classes this summer. You know how bent Howard is on your early graduation. And _it's Virginia._ "

"Does he really?" Tony replied, his voice more than a little mocking. "Maybe I should listen to him, get more credits, and get out of that school of _idiots._ "

"Tony!"

"It's the truth! They're all useless." Tony was practically yelling now, and him and Pepper - _Virginia_ were closer than both of them probably wanted to be.

Both fell completely, uncomfortably silent.

"Tony Stark," she said softly, her quiet voice breaking the silence that had fallen between them. "If you want to know, then yes, I'm worried about you. Not just... as your caretaker."

Tony's eyes widened. " _Oh._." He swallowed, caught off guard for the first time. "I... Pepper, I didn't realize-"

"I'm worried about you as your _friend_."

Stark cleared his throat. "Right. Gotcha, Pep - _Virginia._ No problem-"

"If something happened, I would be completely responsible for your well-being."

"I thought that was Happy's job"

"Whatever," Pepper replied sharply, implying that Tony needed to _shut his mouth before she did it for him_. "I don't know how much I trust SHIELD yet. You're bored to death in those college classes, I know, but is this an adequate solution? Are they who they claim to be?" She sighed, looking down at her clasped hands, and it took all of Tony's self-control to not make any sort of comment or to reach out and tilt her chin up. 

She had been like this ever since the letter came in the mail addressed to him. It advertised a summer program, available exclusively by invitation, for skilled individuals. It was a sort of test-run to see if it would continue for the incoming school year (but he didn't tell Pepper that. She'd give him a whole speech about obligation and what he had to do during the school year). 

"We need you here," Pepper said, her voice still low as she looked at him. " _I,_ "

Tony interrupted her, looking down into her eyes. "Can I kiss you?"

Pepper shut her eyes and puffed out a breath of air as she turned away, her voice showing the extreme exasperation that she felt. "Oh my God. Did you really just-"

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, shaking his head. "It's just, you just... and you're...." Tony made vague hand gestures before the hurt expression on her face stopped him and silenced him for good.

Pepper laughed again, bitterly, before sighing audibly and meeting his eyes. "Wow, Tony," she said, her voice still low as she nodded once. "Wow."

As she turned to walk back up the stairs, Tony ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Gah - Pepper!" he called after her, walking to the base of the stairs. "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have... _Pepper!_ "

He shouldn't have done that. Really, he shouldn't have. He was just starting to form a friendship with her, he thought. Naturally, she knew about his reputation - well, who _didn't_ know about his reputation - but he shouldn't have said that. But the way her eyes looked, and how sweet and worried she had seemed... and now, he'd messed up everything. As usual. 

With a bitter voice, Pepper turned to glare down at him from the top of the stairs.

"It's _Virginia!_ "

As soon as she turned the corner and left his sight, Tony collapsed in his desk chair. He'd messed it up again. It's just that Pepper made him feel so... odd. Like she didn't care about his status or who he was. She cared about him as a person. No one had ever acted like that toward him before. He needed her desperately, as Tony and everyone else knew that he could never get on without her. 

The one person that he actually cared about probably wouldn't bother to stick around to hear him say it. And the worst part was, Tony wouldn't blame her for leaving him in the dust. She was dynamic, and beautiful, and she should be doing such better things than taking care of a delinquent 16-year-old. 

But Tony could never bear to fire Virginia Potts, the fierce redhead that refused to give him the time of day, even if it was for her own good.

Circling around in the spinning armchair, Tony's eyes swept over the lab - his inventions, his tools, his cars, and his suits.

Ah, the suits. They were the one thing that he could claim for himself. It was completely his design, his vision, and it was powered by his arc reactor. No matter what his father said, the suits and him were one. Tony Stark was Iron Man. 

The new repulsors were only part of his designs for the next in a long line of suits. Each one had something new changed about them, something better. Even though it would have been considered expensive by anyone else to create a whole new mark for cooler colors and a better paint job, the suits had become his project and maybe even his obsession. 

The suits and him were one.


	4. Cathedral Parkway to 111st

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter Parker takes a train ride and (officially) meets the pretty blonde from school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's taken a while to update this one - busy weekend. Plus I've been tired. All these chapters will predominantly be fluff and setup for the story - so pretty please bear with me until I can assemble the Avengers and make things interesting. As a peace offering, here's some sleepy Pwen on a train. Love you guys, and don't forget to comment and leave kudos!

Peter stopped his journey through the busy subway station momentarily, adjusting his glasses to look at the long spread of train lines lacing through New York. It was four in the morning (early, yes, but the crowds told that it would be a busy day on the subway), and Peter Parker was running on coffee and regret for ever accepting a summer program near Flushing Meadows. Tracing with his finger where he was, he, from the looks of it, had to get on the orange line, pass about one million stops, transfer at Queensboro Plaza and take that to the 111th Street station.

Easy, right? Despite the fact it would probably take the majority of the day. 

Rolling his eyes, Peter stepped away from the board and toward the track, just as the orange line train through Forest Hills screamed up to the platform, people piling in and out in a sleepy daze. Being part of a crowd like this made Peter feel so...so normal, which wasn't exactly something he was used to. Y'know, being Spider-Man and all. 

He was pretty sure that that's why he had received an invitation to this program. How the SHIELD organization knew about his secret identity was another matter. But from the sound of it, the school didn't have tons of room for students whose skills lay in academic areas. 'Course, if they were simply basing it off of wit, he would have made it in with honors - but that was another story. 

Peter shoved his way onto the train, finding a rather quiet car with a seat by the door. The only other occupants were several businessmen and women, as well as a small old lady with a tiny dog that yipped at Peter every time he looked at it. 

"Hold the door!"

A somewhat familiar voice called out from across the platform, and Peter slammed his hand onto the _open door_ button before letting himself realize who just rushed into the car and sat down right next to him. 

She was tall, pretty, with wavy blonde hair and a smile that could melt Peter into a puddle within a moment - and it didn't help that she was in nearly all of his classes back at school.

It was Gwen Stacy.

As soon as she sat down, she smiled at him lightly. "Hey," she said breathlessly, obviously tired from running. 

Peter paused for a second, composing himself before replying. "Hey." 

Gwen's smiled widened as she recognized him. "Don't I know you? From school?" Peter nodded quickly in affirmation. "Yeah! Yeah. I... yeah, I might have...seen you around."

She laughed quietly, and her nose wrinkled up in the slightest. "You look different when you're not behind a camera lens. I'm Gwen Stacy." She stuck out her hand, and Peter took it. 

"Peter Parker," he replied, shaking her hand. "And I... I get that a lot." 

Gwen released his hand and leaned back in her seat with a sigh. "Where are you heading? Because I'm off to-" 

"-111st Street," the pair finished together. Peter had to keep from staring at her blankly. If that program wasn't meant to be based on merit, then-

"You're going to the summer school program, then?" Gwen asked with a smile. "They heard about me through my college applications, so I got a letter late. So it's not what they would usually do, I don't think. What about you?"

Peter smiled, adjusting his glasses slightly. "Yeah, it's... it's the same for me. Y'know, based on scholastics as opposed to whatever else they're looking for." Gwen nodded at him and shut her eyes with a sigh.

"I'm _exhausted_. I can't imagine if I'd missed the train. Thanks for holding the door for me, Peter..." She trailed out the last word with a long yawn and a deep breath, and by the way she settled down against the seat it was clear that she'd sleep out the rest of the journey. When her breathing slowed down, Peter sighed subconsciously.

Truth be told, he'd had a sort-of crush on Gwen the whole school year. The thing was, she wasn't just pretty. She was smart, and outgoing, and liked by nearly everyone in the school. Everyone wanted to be Gwen Stacy. And by whatever 'fate' there was in the world, she'd ended up in a program all the way across New York.

As Gwen slept, Peter sighed as they barely got to their first stop. They had a long way to go. Aunt May hadn't been looking forward to losing Peter all summer - although Peter could tell that she was starting to catch on to what he did every day (because apparently cleaning the nonexistent chimney and washing the American flag weren't good enough excuses anymore). She'd cried this morning, as she had insisted upon seeing him off, handing him a stack of bills for the subway and any other things he needed to buy for the journey. May had always been a sentimental woman, and she hated having an empty nest more than anything else. It wasn't as if Peter didn't feel bad about leaving her alone all summer and possibly all year; he did. But with everything going on in his life, it was so much safer for her alone.

The second stop. The third. Gwen's head slipped onto Peter's shoulder at some point (which caused a noticeable blush to rise to his cheeks). Eventually he fell into a state of half-sleep, listening for the Queensboro Plaza stop and any announcements. He did, eventually, fall asleep, about ten stops away from their transfer. More and more people were packed onto the train, and Peter drew both his and Gwen's baggage closer to them.

Suddenly, the whole train came to a screeching halt.

_We're sorry, but the New York Public Transit Subway Orange Line has encountered a delay. Estimated time of travel continuation: forty minutes. Thank you for your cooperation!_

Every person in the subway groaned audibly, and Peter let out a deep sigh. Checking his watch for the first time, he saw it had been more than two hours on the train. 

Gwen still didn't wake up. Peter leaned back, his cheek partly resting against her hair, and shut his eyes - but only for a minute, he thought...

_Last call for Queensboro Plaza Station, transfers to Yellow Line and Purple line._

"Peter!"

Someone was shaking him by the shoulder, but he was still sore from the rough bout with a criminal the night before, causing him to groan audibly and flinch away.

"Peter! We have to go! _Now!_ "

Peter's eyes flew open to Gwen shaking him roughly and practically pulling him out of his seat. With a start he got out of the seat, grabbing his bag and hurrying out of the quickly closing doors. Both of them glanced at each other and laughed in relief, Gwen pressing her hand against her face in relief.

"Hey, on the bright side we've got just eleven more stops to go," Peter said, just as the Purple Line train pulled up. Gwen smiled and nodded before they got on the train close together to beat the crowds. This one was almost more crowded than the first, if possible, and they were forced to stand right up against the door with nowhere to hold on. As soon as the train kicked into motion, Peter stumbled forward and practically knocked Gwen over. She only smiled and leaned against him only in the slightest as the subway whizzed away toward their destination.

All in all, it was an enjoyable ride for Peter Parker and his newfound friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how'd you like it? New update soon!


	5. Home Front

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at SHIELD hq, preparations are being made for a new kind of school - what has affectionately been dubbed "Marvel High."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, loves - in a rush! Hope you enjoy the new chapter, and thanks for 500+ reads! Don't forget to comment! Thanks!

Phil Coulson was more than concerned about Agent Barton's mission.

He'd gone several hours without checking in, and although Phil hated to monitor other agent's positions, he hadn't moved from the same spot just outside of St. Petersburg in hours. Something was up. There was a plethora of things that could have -

A firm knock sounded at the door, breaking Phil from his trail of thoughts. Quickly, he shut all of his computer windows and turned town his comm link before opening the door to a fully-suited, serious Agent May.

Melinda May had known Phil for a long while, as he had been the one that encouraged her to join SHIELD in the first place. Melinda was 19, fierce, and the best fighter Phil had ever known. If she was here, it wasn't just to chat. Agent May was seemingly all about business.

"Sir, the new labs and classrooms are ready. Several applicants have already arrived, and I've sent them after the interns to find room assignments."

Phil nodded. "How many have come?"

"Several, not many. We haven't tracked down Banner yet, and according to sources, Parker is still in transit. Stark made it already - alone, but we haven't gotten any word on Barton."

"Neither have I. He's holed up just outside St. Petersburg - that, or he lost his comm."

"Barton wouldn't do that," May returned, shaking her head. "He's too smart for that. Something's up." May continued, walking out the door as Coulson followed.

"I agree. But there's not much we can do without sending in an extraction team - and I promised myself I wouldn't do that again."

If Phil didn't know any better, he would have thought May was on the precipice of bursting into laughter. "Is that why every pilot on the helicarrier is ready to get him out of there?"

Coulson looked down at the ground, hiding his slight frustration at the other agent's insightfulness. "Just show me the new labs, would you?"

***  
Coulson and May approached the newest lab, set up and fully equipped for anything anyone could ever ask for. 

And yet, leave asking for more to Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz. 

The second that the field agents stepped over the threshold, the fifteen-year-old best friends were on their co-workers, asking too many complicated questions and acting like children in candy stores. Jemma, whose expertise was in all things medical and biological, appeared to already have been inside every cabinet, checking if everything really was in order. Leo, the engineer and technological genius, had pulled the tarp off of the holotable already and was slowly figuring out the hand gestures and controls.

"All of SHIELD's databases," Jemma said, her smile growing wider with every second. "Everything I could ever want to know about anything - well, you know, as long as I'm classified to access it - "

"But the _touch controls!_ How did you pull off those sensors in the display? Is there anything on the ceiling or the rest of the table?" Leo whizzed off to investigate the table again, Jemma joining him.

"There's another one on the Bus," Coulson said, causing them to seize their inspection to look at him. "It's even more advanced."

Both scientists looked happy enough to spontaneously combust. 

May looked up, walking further into the room. "Have you seen the engineering lab yet?"

Fitz and Simmons exchanged a knowing glance before bolting out of the room, yelling as they went.

_"It's got to be down here, Jemma!"_

_"No, Fitz! It's over here. Fitz! Hey!"_

Phil cracked a small smile before deactivating the holotable and covering it with the tarp again. "They seem content. I'm glad to get them onto this project. We need more people like them in SHIELD. People willing to work hard and do what they know well." Coulson gave the holotable a small pat. "Hopefully we'll be able to keep them on this project for more than a week."

May nodded knowingly before approaching the table. "How'd you convince Tony Stark to give you this kind of tech?" she asked, looking up to meet Phil's eyes.

She knew about Stark's tech going into the design. Phil was surprised only for a moment before he remembered who he was dealing with. 

"His father, Howard funded the engineering lab Agent Fitz is so excited about. Once we had that donation, they were easy to wear down," Phil explained. "Thanks for telling Fitz about that, by the way - I'll never get him out now."

Melinda did crack a small smile at that before it dropped away again. "I know you've got Ward on this project as well," she said - again, with great knowing in her voice. "And I was surprised you didn't choose Barton, even Morse. But Ward?"

"Ward's got more potential than you give him credit for. He's eighteen, he's ambitious, and he's been trained by the best. We'll see good things from him. Plus, Barton's got better things to do than hopping around the globe with us - we wouldn't need a marksman. And Morse was transferred to Washington, DC with Carter last month. She's too unstable after -" Phil trailed off, before shaking his head and starting up again. "Well, I assume you know about that too."

May nodded, no shame in how she possibly knew too much for her level. "Is that why you're so worried about Agent Barton's mission?" she inquired casually. "Because of emotional stress between him and Morse a few months ago?"

Phil shook his head. "No, but it's that, too. It's his target -"

May raised an eyebrow, but her voice didn't change. "You sent him on a mission to neutralize a threat? In Russia? Is it -"

"Hill suggested it, and I went along. And it's probably exactly who you're thinking of, yeah." Phil paused, before smiling to himself. "And I just told you everything you couldn't gather from the SHIELD databases with your access code."

She shook her head. "Not everything. Just... why him? Why the archer?"

May wasn't the only one good at analyzing voices and body language. Under May's demeanor, Phil knew that she was hiding something. Jealousy? Anger? Barton was a high-ranking agent - it was obvious that at least part of her would covet his level access around SHIELD, as well as the privileges he earned. Not that there was much favoritism coming from Director Fury, a man strong enough to build SHIELD himself, not using the shoulders of others much for help. Barton had always been a favorite - because who couldn't like the archer who didn't know how to miss?

"Well," Phil answered finally, a small smirk on his face. "It's because birds are good at catching spiders."

May left a minute later, as stony-faced and emotionless as always. There was no more conversation between them after that.

 

Leaning against the holotable, Phil relaxed for a moment. Everything with the school was going according to plan so far (if they could find Banner and get Clint back within the week). Of course, in the beginning some students from the Academy (where usual SHIELD agents were trained) would be transferring, if only to complete the classroom setting. Some of them might be taken on later as full students at "Marvel High-" but only if they were on par with those drafted for the Avengers Initiative.

Phil had come up with the name, actually, and he was pretty proud of it. It was Fury's idea to bring together these young individuals; to give them a place to work, study, and train, as well as (perhaps) team together and become something more. Whenever Phil asked exactly what more entailed, Fury would only smile - which naturally drove Phil crazy.

Suddenly, Phil's phone dinged, breaking him out of his reverie. The message was for a new mission - effective immediately. Hurriedly, Phil turned out the lights in the lab and headed out toward the hanger.

What he didn't understand was why SHIELD needed him out in the middle of a frozen ocean.


	6. Frostbite (Flashback)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve Rogers is very, very far from home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My deepest apologies! Life has been crazy as of late! So, without further ado....

_It was morning, and the radio came on with Glenn Miller's In the Mood._

_It was morning, and James Barnes was in the kitchen of the flat his best friend had inherited. He had been out late last night - but no one really had to guess what he had been doing. The Sunday smell of frying bacon came over the whole apartment as Bucky whistled to himself happily._

_It was morning, and tiny Steven Grant Rogers was fifteen today._

_The small, sickly blond got out of bed slowly, stopping several times to cough and take deep breaths on his way to the kitchen. Eventually, Bucky came into his line of sight, already dressed up in his smart-looking military uniform._

_"Hey, punk," Barnes said lightly, rumpling Steve's duckfluff blonde hair before pushing the bacon onto a plate. "Do me a favor and set the table, would ya? Make yourself useful."_

_Steve smiled before taking out plates and cutlery, sitting down in his place. Before Bucky brought over the food, he dropped a small brown parcel onto Steve's plate. Steve looked up at his friend's retreating back, smiling at him before tearing the paper eagerly._

_"Buck, you shouldn't have."_

_The older, wiser friend turned around and smiled. "Hey, you deserve it, kid. Paint me something pretty."_

_Steve smiled down at the new paint set happily until Bucky brought over breakfast. They ate quietly, until Bucky laughed aloud with a mouthful of eggs._

_"Seriously? No 'thank you?' That stings, Rogers."_

_Steve shook his head. "Alright. Thank you, jerk."_

_"You're welcome, punk."_

_Silence again._

_"We're going out today, Stevie," Bucky said assertively. "You can't do anything about it. Stacy's got this friend, Cassie, and she's _really nice_ , and I promised I'd take them dancing and bring a friend."_

_Steve sighed and shook his head. "Bucky, you know I don't want to-"_

_"I'm not letting you stay inside, okay? And don't say you had plans already. It's your _birthday_ , kid. Let's do something."_

_"Bucky, I said no." Their voices grew louder, fighting to outdo each other._

_"If you just got out of the house without picking a fight somewhere, you'd be better, I know it! You just have to -"_

__"Buck-kky!_ "_

_The tail end of tiny Steve's argument was cut off by a coughing fit, and Bucky was at Steve's side in an instant, rubbing the younger boy's back and calming him down._

_"Hey, Stevie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Steve continued to cough into Bucky's shoulder, shaking and trembling. "You don't have to do anything if you don't want, Stevie. I promise. I promise."_

_Soon, Steve could breathe again, and he embraced Bucky tightly._

_"J-jerk," Steve stammered, all of him still trembling from the asthma attack._

_"I know," Bucky muttered, his tone deeply sad. "I know."_

_The dream lingered upon the Sunday morning kitchen for a moment, before skimming over the events of the next few months._

_Bucky went away to the 107th, off to war with all the others. Every doctor Steve ever had would argue that the asthmatic, tiny, pale kid couldn't follow. But Erksine said otherwise. Before Bucky could make it out of boot camp, Steve had become a different person._

_A soldier._

_The rest was a blur; the Howling Commandos, finding Bucky again, taking out every HYDRA facility in site, the faint memory of red lipstick. But the moment that stuck out above all was the train; the cold air turning Steve's fingers to ice as he reached toward his friend. The howl of the wind and the swirling snow._

_Most of all, he remembered Bucky's yells as he fell down into the gorge, reaching back up toward his old friend._

_HYDRA. The Red Skull and Zola. Leaving Peggy behind. The plane and the final fight._

_There was a moment when he got out of the seat, after the plane had crashed. Water was rushing in through the plane, and already the air was deathly cold. Steve laid down against the floor, shutting his eyes and resting his shield next to him._

_He was going to see his best friend again. He was going to see Bucky again and apologize a thousand times for everything that he did wrong. The water rose higher and higher as an icy wind blew in from the shattered glass at the front of the plane._

_He was going to see Bucky again._

The faint sound of strange noises and voices cut into his consciousness. He recognized the sound of yelling, rustling, great movement, and commotion in the back of his mind - but only very dimly. His mind and body had survived, preserved in ice for seventy years.

A week after he was discovered in a crashed, icy plane, the very same Steve Rogers, the one-man army known as Captain America, opened his eyes onto a new, changed world.

But he hadn't realized that yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, and I apologize again! Please give feedback if you have time - thanks a billion! ^-^

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I plan on updating every Friday, but perhaps more frequently/infrequently depending on life.


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